Intellectual vacuum left in the wake: Stephen Hawkings dies at 76

Last Modified Wednesday, 14 March 2018 (11:21 IST)

London:Stephen Hawkings who sought to explain the most complicated questions of life ,before conquering the stars and finding the way to black hole ,became part of design which is inevitable fate of all humans.The great Physicist has left for the heavenly abode at the age of 76The UK's Press Association reported his death, citing a spokesman for the family.

In the bizarre sub-molecular world of quantum theory, Stephens said he could predict what happens at the beginning and end of time.Hawking's formidable mind probed the very limits of human understanding both in the vastness of space.

Hawkings work ranges from the origins of the universe itself, through the tantalising prospect of time travel to the mysteries of space's all-consuming black holes.The power of his intellect contrasted cruelly with the weakness of his body, which was ravaged by motor neurone disease which he contracted at the age of 21.Throughout his life he was confined to a wheelchair. As his condition worsened, he had to resort to speaking through a voice synthesiser and communicating by moving his eyebrows.

Motor neurone disease spurred him to work harder but also contributed to the collapse of his two marriages, he wrote in a 2013 memoir "My Brief History."In the book he related how he was first diagnosed: "I felt it was very unfair - why should this happen to me,""At the time, I thought my life was over and that I would never realise the potential I felt I had.

But now, 50 years later, I can be quietly satisfied with my life."Stephen Hawking shot to international fame after the 1988 publication of "“A Brief History of Time", which is one of the most complex books ever to achieve mass appeal, which stayed best-sellers list for 237 weeks.He said he wrote the book to convey his own excitement over recent discoveries about the universe.Now Hawkings is no more between us, but his theories will remain to bridge the gap between the space and human understanding. (UNI)